How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat

by Farah Pandith

There is a war being fought, and we are losing it.

Despite the billions of dollars spent since 9/11 trying to defeat terrorist organizations, the so-called Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and other groups remain a terrifying geopolitical threat. In some ways the threat has grown worse: The 9/11 hijackers came from far away; the danger today can come from anywhere—from the other side of the world to across the street. Unable to stem recruitment, we seem doomed to a worsening struggle with a constantly evolving enemy that remains several steps ahead of us. Unfortunately, current policies seem almost guaranteed not to reduce extremist violence but instead to make it easier for terrorists to spread their hateful ideas, recruit new members, and carry out attacks.

We actually possess the means right now to inoculate communities against extremist ideologies. In How We Win, Farah Pandith presents a revolutionary new analysis of global extremism as well as powerful but seldom-used strategies for vanquishing it. Drawing on her visits to eighty countries, the hundreds of interviews and focus groups she’s conducted around the world, and her high-level experience in the Bush and Obama administrations, Pandith argues for a paradigm shift in our approach to combat extremism, one that mobilizes the expertise and resources of diplomats, corporate leaders, mental health experts, social scientists, entrepreneurs, local communities, and, most of all, global youth themselves.

There is a war being fought, and we can win it. This is how.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

512 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2019

About the author

FARAH PANDITH is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism, she is a frequent media commentator and public speaker. She served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and most recently she was the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, serving both Secretaries Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She has served on the National Security Council, at the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in various senior roles. She has also served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, chairing its task force on countering violent extremism. She is a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Pandith divides her time between Washington, D.C.; London; and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her book is How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders and Social Medial Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat.

www.farahpandith.com

Reviews

[Jessica Barmack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farah Pandith's diplomatic appointments to the West Wing in the Bush administration and then the Obama administration (under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) indicate an international perspective that transcends party politics. Pandith's mission: Tap into local leadership, developing community, resources, and signposting (esp. in social media) to proactively reach out to Moslem youth who may find themselves at a crossroads, and who may otherwise discover that, overwhelmingly, the groups most interested in them--the organizations offering a place of honor in their communities--may well be linked to extremist groups, which are, to an alarming degree, highly sophisticated in their ability to make contact with vulnerable youth. Their needs to be, writes Pandith, an equally sophisticated response/presence/community that gives young people a clear and real alternative path to that of extremist cults. Global in scope, HOW WE WIN is full of observations and insight from Pandith's tireless travels, as well as from her own life as a Muslim growing up in the United States.

[Peter Henne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book that both analyzes the terrorist threat and provides steps to mitigate it, from a long-time expert on this issue. The author worked in the Bush and Obama Administrations on countering violent extremism (CVE) and the book is full of her first-hand accounts, along with interviews with other experts.

She provides a good background on the current terrorist threat. Not so much the history of al-Qaeda and ISIS, but the nature of extremism among Muslims around the world and where this comes from. She also discusses various US efforts to address this, and which of these seemed to have any effect. Finally, she provides a series of suggestions for the government, businesses and individuals to combat extremism.

I gave it four starts only because I'd hope to have received more on the politics of implementing this. The solution (which is I agree with) involves breaking down the hierarchical structure of the US government, which is hard to do. And one of the biggest limitations to any effective CVE strategy is US politics--as it is now, the GOP is unlikely to embrace these steps (and may attack Democrats who do so as "weak). Democrats may follow them, but they may also avoid this issue as it's become so toxic. To be fair, there may not have been room in the book for this.

Overall, a good read and I hope it gets a lot of attention as we go into the election season.

[John Crippen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is a very engaging speaker and writer, and this book does a great job of explaining her thoughts on countering violent extremism (CVE). Plus, it's always fun to read about things going on at work completely unrelated to my area. I would have liked to have read a stronger argument for why helping Muslim youth in search of identity is our best approach for CVE. The book left me convinced that there are a lot of great things that we could be doing to help in that regard, but not convinced that those things are the most important things.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

How We Win is an extremely well-written and informative book that everyone should read. It educated me on issues that I didn’t even know existed and opened my eyes to ways that I, as an individual, can make a change. I really enjoyed reading about Farah’s experiences as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Overall, How We Win was super interesting and eye opening.

[Agatha Glowacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty amazing- she’s written about a huge piece of my career. Not only was I her briefer but I know everyone she mentions in the book and I’ve lived through all the accounts she outlines. And her suggestions are spot on.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful as to why Islamic State recruiters seem so effective. Provided recommendations for countries, states, leaders, and communities to work together in countering violent extremism. Too much repetition.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.